I got two jobs last weekend. Yesterday, Monday, I started one of them. It was with a company that does interviews over the phone, and they are in Seattle. Their call center has about thirty phones and they also do focus groups. My first assignment is to do a survey about pesticide use in Oregon. It is sponsored by the state department of agriculture, and there are only about ten questions. At the end of the survey, I ask people if they will keep a diary about pesticide use for the next three months. If I get two people an hour to take this five-minute survey, then I am doing more than they expect. More than half of the employees get bonuses on their work.
I was the only person who showed up in a tie. Many of the people showed up in what they slept in. Everything I saw there made me think of India, and how people need degrees or major finesse to get jobs in a call center. I compiled what I learned in an email and I sent it to Nandan because I want him to know how it works in America.
Today I start my other job, which is also as a caller in a research center. This place is in Bellevue. I have already been to this place once for an interview. The first place did not even have interviews – they just said show up, and even the four people who arrived an hour late were hired and credited for the hour they were not there. Both places have offices that look the same. Both places obviously make a lot more money than the management knows what to do with.